welcome to "world news." tonight, price spike. gas prices surge towards $5 a gallon, taking the family budget with them. taking heat. the surging dark horse continues to rise. but rick santorum is hit by a tidal wave of scrutiny over some of his outspoken views. trapped in an avalanche. inside the 120-mile-per-hour fury of an avalanche and how this backpack helped one woman survive. and chain of life. 60 strangers connected by incredible generosity. they just set a record for saving lives. good evening.

we hope you're having a good holiday weekend. today, the united states is feeling the shockwaves of a showdown half a world away. if you filled up your tank today, you felt it. gas prices spiking. averaging $3.56 a fallen. never before this high this early in the year. and the blame lies squarely with iran which angrily cut off oil exports to britain and france and is causing a spasm in the market, causing oil prices to rise. so, what happens next? how much higher will gasoline prices go? we sent abc's cecilia vega in search of answers. >> reporter: this is hitting drivers squarely in their wallets. hitting earlier than usual. drivers here at this station in los angeles are paying more than $5 a gallon for premium gas. norm' we don't see gas prices spike till may or june, just before drivers hit the road for summer vacations. >> 50 bucks doesn't even fill

the tank. >> you spend more getting to work than you do getting paid. >> reporter: what a way to celebrate presidents' day with the highest gas prices ever seen this time of year. they're rising at record speed too, up 25 cents from just a month ago. last year, prices mostly held steady from january to february. clocking in at $3.14. the year before that, they actually went down. april, experts say, it will only get worse. >> we're looking at perhaps prices getting to $3.75 to $4.25 perhaps by april or may. >> reporter: the spike is being driven largely by smoldering tensions with iran and some analysts predict, come memorial day, the price at the pump could be a whopping $5 a gallon. on average, american households spent more than $4,000 on gas last year alone. 8.4% of their total budget. that's double what they spent a decade ago. and the ripple effect of spiking prices is felt well beyond the

pump. think more expensive plane tickets. higher heating bills. and it doesn't end there. the price of fruits and vegetables could go up as farmers pay more for gas for their tractors. milk, eggs, goods made from petroleum like that fertilizer that keeps the lawn green, makeup, detergent, even prescription drugs, they may all be getting more expensive. >> there's a supply chain and, you know, it's probably a matter of weeks, perhaps months, as those costs get passed through. >> reporter: the immediate problem is at the pump, with prices like $3.96 a gallon in new york, $3.53 near lincoln, nebraska, and $3.62 near seattle, what's a driver to do? for starters, try not to fill up anywhere near a highway. we went to this station near a freeway in los angeles where gas costs $4.95 a gallon. just two miles down the road, though, prices are much cheaper, $3.9 per gallon.

sometimes the road less traveled is the better value. well, that's the truth. the reason we see these price differences from those by the freeway to those just down the road, it boils down to basic old compe tegs. gas station owners located by the freeway can simply charge more, diane, because drivers don't have the time, the ability or the means to drive around and look for cheaper gas else where. >> i know you talked to a lot of experts today. what do they think can change this around, change this trajectory? >> reporter: you know, whether we hit $5 a gallon is up for debate. experts are split on that. if we do, something that could push that off for a little while really has toh this global impact you talked about earlier. tensions in iran. if that region starts to calm down at all, we could see numbers stabilize, maybe come down a bit. also saudi arabia, if they increase their oil production in any way, that puts more supply back on the market. and that will bring some prices down here at home too. >> okay, cecilia, thanks. and talking about those tensions in iran, here's what

happened tap. a team of inspectors from the united nations nuclear watchdog, the iaea, arrived in tehran for a two-day visit, the second in three weeks, there to meet with iranian nuclear scientists and visit one military research complex. they will be looking for signs of secret nuclear bunkers underground, but that's something the iranians deny exist. and the spike in gas prices is just one curveball in the presidential race under way which has already seen its share of unexpected twists, including the latest surge from dark horse rank santorum, now leading romney by ten points nationally. the first time he's had double-digit lead. abc's john karl has more on "your voice, your vote." >> reporter: rick santorum ventured into ohio today looking more and more like the front-runner. >> freedom isn't to do whatever you want to do. it's to do what you ought to do. right? >> reporter: and santorum has spent a lot of time lately

talking about what people ought and ought not to do. most recently, he's taken aim at insurance coverage for prenatal testing which santorum says leads to more abortions of children with birth defects. >> when they're discovered in the womb, doctors encourage and in some cases almost insist that they abort these children. >> reporter: santorum says the issue is personal for him because his 3-year-old daughter was born with a genetic disorder often detected in prenatal tests. >> i have a child who has trisonoma 18. i know what i'm talking about here. >> reporter: santorum's commitment to social issues is clearly heartfelt but privately some top republicans tell abc news his views would be a disaster for the party. driving away independents, moderates and women. just over the past week or so, santorum has had to explain his personal opposition to birth control and to women in combat. and over the weekend, san

tomorrow seemed to question the president's religion in a speech attack his energy policy. >> it's not about your job, it's about some phony ideal, some phony theology. oh, not a theology based on the bible, different theology. >> reporter: he says he was talking about the president's environmental view, not his religion. although look how his own spokesman slipped up today when she tried to said radical environmentalist. >> he's referring to the president's policy in terms of the radical islamic policies the president has. >> reporter: as for mitt romney, new numbers out today show his supporters have spent $14 million on ads attacking his republican rivals. romney's campaign has spent millions more and still he finds himself trailing rick santorum. all of this, diane, has caused some real angst by republican leaders, including one top republican senator, who told me that if romney loses in michigan, the party needs to find a new candidate to get into the race. >> but how many are there people who think like that, are they

serious about this? that would be seismic. >> reporter: there's real angst but most people think romney still finds a way to pull this out. diane, there are only ten states where it's possible to still get on the ballot. this would have to be fought out at the convention. the candidates you hear about, jeb bush, mitch daniels, chris christie, all of them have said firmly there's no way they're getting in. so they're probably stuck with the field they have. >> reporting in from the white house tonight, thank you, john. now, from a political storm front to the real storms marching across the south, leaving more than 50,000 people without power, highways turned into a wintry slip and slide. a sudden blast of arctic weather in this balmy winter. abc's steve osunsami has been tracking the treachery on the roads. >> reporter: across virginia, west virginia and tennessee today, driving felt more like demolition derby. police in virginia alone responding to nearly 100 crashes that backed up roads for miles. all caused by nearly 5 inches of

wet icy sloshy snow. >> i was in shorts not too long ago so it's a weird winter. >> reporter: outside raleigh in north carolina heavy rain washed away salt on the roads, then came the snow, which melted and then froze again. all of a sudden cars were driving on eicicles. several people hospitalized. >> somehow he got airplane born and upside down. when he hit my car, he was sideways and upside down. >> reporter: this crash led to a fire. >> this happened so fast, the roads have been fine till right there and it was ice. >> reporter: this same storm system brought flooding rain to parts of louisiana. then triggered three tornados and center quarter-sized hail raining down on four states over the weekend. the worst of the storm may be the wet, heavy snow, which brought down power lines in the tennessee valley and has left more than 50,000 families in the dark tonight. the utilities have been working nonstop to clear the branches that brought down the lines. >> it's been out since about

4:00 from chain saws and haven't been back to bed yet. >> reporter: for many in the south, the first real winter storm and it came with a punch. steve osunsami, abc news, atlanta. and, now, we have a new sign of these tough times. new census numbers out today that show the population in the united states is growing at the slowest rate since the great depression. from 2010 to 2011, it slowed to 0.7%, down from 1%, because of the body blow from the economy. couples putting off having children. and having fewer when they do. the average number of children per family now below two, meaning more people are dying than are being born. and the stream of foreigners coming in to our shores is slowing too because job opportunities are reduced. experts say when the economy picks up, so will the population growth. as of now, we're about 311 million people, if you're counting. and still ahead on "world news," new details tonight about

that deadly avalanche. how one woman survived inside 125-mile-per-hour wave of snow. and an extraordinary chain of strangers. hear what they did to help other strangers. 60 people giving the gift of life. [ male announcer ] that. right there -- reminds you

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in more depth on that terrifying avalanche over the weekend. the one that bore down on the canyon at a popular key resort in washington state, killing three people. we asked abc's. he's in stevens pass, washington, tonight. >> reporter: a terrifying force of nature. an avalanche like this one surging down the mountain at speeds of up to 120 miles per hour. carrying everything in its path. on sunday, that power was on full display. a group of experienced skiers ventured off the main slope. that's when it happened, sweeping them up in seconds, rocketing them a quarter of a mile straight down hill. fellow skiers raced in to find the missing. >> waited for the snow to settle and then immediately went into their rescue mode. using their avalanche beacons to locate their friends. >> reporter: three men in the group could not be revived and

died. this winter, 17 people have been killed in avalanches nationwide. they are powerful, strong enough to topple railroad cars. a large slide could carry enough snow to cover 20 football fields ten feet high. this footage shows what it's like to be caught up in one. a snowboarder in new zealand riding one second and the next he is overcome. his camera capturing what he saw and heard inside as the light faded. luckily, he survived. experienced ski patrol member chris describes the ride. >> it's like being stuck in a washing machine full of rocks. you're getting tumbled around. you can't see anything. >> reporter: one of the survivors of yesterday's avalanche, pro skier elyse saugstad, credits an emergency air bag like this one with saving her life. >> you don't know which way is up or down but the system keeps you up above so you have a very

good chance of survival. >> reporter: while caught up in the avalanche, the air bag keeps you from sinking, actually lifting you upwarmeds towards it is air, reducing your chances of sur dating. here's the idea. let's pretend this is the air bag. its larger than the snow around it so as the avalanche moves, the air bag moves its way to the top, preventing the skier from being buried alive. you can see an air bag saving this snowboarder a few weeks ago in colorado. even the best skiers caution that no technology is failsafe. >> you know your risks and you know your abilities. these individuals were expert skiers. it's one of those things that -- nature is more powerful than we are. >> reporter: clayton sandell, abc news, stevens pass, washington. think of this as jurassic plant. scientists have revived a 32,000-year-old flower. what does it look like? we'll show you. would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite.

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by far the oldest plant ever generated from ancient tissue. beautiful. and a celebration today. exactly 50 years ago, john glenn became the first american to orbit the earth. he marked the anniversary at ohio state university, talking with astronauts aboard the international space station. he remembered that his p pioneering day he said was the best day of his life and a big moment for america too. here's abc's john donvan. >> reporter: precisely 50 years ago this morning, a man in a silver suit put america's confidence back on track. >> god speed, john glenn. >> reporter: what john glenn did on february 20th, 1962, his triple circum navigation of the globe, it was just what the nation needed and just at the moment he did it. because the soviet union had already put two men up there who had circled the earth 18 times between them. almost mocking us in how they celebrated, back when we measured everything in terms of whether we were beating the

communists. but now glenn was up there watching sunrise after sunset as he circled at 17,000 miles an hour. >> i feel fine. turning around. oh, the view is tremendous. >> reporter: his heartbeat audible and calm. and it was that day that we realized down here that we just might catch up after all. 'cause he helped us believe in tomorrow. having just been there himself. john donvan, abc news, washington. >> and all of us salute john glenn. coming up, paying it forward as you've never seen it before. [ male announcer ] from the soups you know and love

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it's the incredible algebra of human kindness. one person deciding to save a life of a stranger whose family, in turn, saves the life of another stranger and on and on. all you need is the stranger who starts it. >> a stranger is just as important as a family or friend. >> reporter: enter rick, an electrician, who said work was slow right now. he had time on his hands. enough time to give a gift. >> it's like there's some virtue to being kind and helpful to your family and friends but that's easy, you know, i mean if the world could love strangers and be as kind to them as to their family and friends, world problems would be solved. >> reporter: getting nothing in return, he decided to give his kidney to someone whose family couldn't provide a match. as a result, his kidney traveled all across the country to new jersey to the family of a man who, in turn, donated one of

their kidneys to brooke kitzman from michigan. an ex-girlfriend getting a kidney because her ex-boyfriend gave one to someone else. the old prom date from queens, new york, gregory, donating a kidney so zenovia could get a kidney from samantha in california. the mastermind behind it all is an ex-marine with an nba and his own company and a 10-year-old daughter who once had kidney failure. 15 people tried to donate till she got the match. >> when i saw these systems, i thought there needed to be a better way. and that's what drove us to create the national kidney registry. >> reporter: must have been a terrifying time. >> it was very stressful. yes. >> reporter: so you're giving back. you're paying forward. >> yes. you might say that. >> reporter: and so it was before dawn matching profiles logistics, blood type. four months, 17 hospitals, 11

states. till this largest chain of generosity ever ended with the 30th transplant, 47-year-old donald terry. >> i felt myself dying on dialysis. the doctor told me and told me he had a kidney and he was going to donate. i can't tell you how i actually burst down in tears. >> reporter: terry had no idea that the two people watching over him was that ex-marine and a stranger who, on impulse, walked into the hospital. >> if you believe in god, you could say, well, maybe god gave us an extra kidney so we could give away. you know, if i had another kidney, i would donate that one too. >> reporter: so many people connected by what it really means to be human. >> thank you! >> reporter: many of them wanting to send a message like paulette from chicago, recipient number 12. >> the words "thank you" really airport enough. they're the only ones i know to say. so thank you. >> reporter: sending their

gratitude in the hope that tomorrow morning before dawn all across america it can all begin again. and be sure to check out the national kidney registry on our website, abcnews.com/world news. we thank you for watching. "nightline" will be here later. and we'll see you back here tomorrow. have a wonderful president's day night. .

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